


when IT and shop class come together

by InterGalacticKnight



Category: Teacher AU - Fandom, babycat
Genre: F/M, Nissan said "now kith", Teacher AU, baby just wants to be decent but has a crush, slight slowburn but not really cause babys weak, the story of how a Nissan sentra with bad alignment brings together two people, very shippy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-14
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-18 12:42:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28743435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InterGalacticKnight/pseuds/InterGalacticKnight
Summary: the shop teacher has a crush on the IT teacher despite hardly knowing her but todays lesson is perseverance and hes nothing if not persistent
Relationships: Cat N/Gavin Baby
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

Today was the first day of school, and the sound of frantic and anxious teens filled the schools halls. Laughter and talking bounces off the white brick walls before being cut into with the sound of a bell ringing, and slowly bit by bit the halls decongested as students found their respective classrooms. 

Baby sighed, and took a long sip from his coffee as he made his way down the hall, he had previously been in the office taking advantage of the free doughnuts and casual conversation with secretaries. 

This was his second year teaching at Nordina High School as their shop teacher, and though he did his best to maintain a composed attitude, his nerves jumped slightly at the idea of another long school year. It wasn't that he disliked his job, in fact he adored it, and he was finally starting to fit in more with all the other staff.

It was more focused on his developing crush for a fellow staff member if he was being blunt, and as he started to reach his respective classroom he didnt make an effort to divert his eyes from her classroom. He actually found himself looking in as he walked by, slowing his pace slightly in hope of maybe catching a glance at her, but alas it appeared she wasn't quite in as early as him. 

Mentally sighing, he turned his attention back to where he was going, and made his way into his classroom. The all too familiar smell of oil and metal hitting him, and then the usual smell of the cherry hand soap by the sink also wafting pleasantly. He admittedly missed his classroom, summer break always was nice, but sometimes it dragged out and he sometimes wished it would fly by faster so he could resume his job at the school.

Stepping into his office, he set his coffee and folder on his desk and seated himself in his chair, rolling up to the desk he logged into his computer and double checked that his beginning of the year powerpoint was still intact before leaning back in his chair and sighing. 

His mind drifted to her again and how she looked at last year's graduation.

Her normally short hair opted out for a long wig that flowed nicely over her shoulders, and her body hugged by a blue minidress that accented her more prominent curves she normally hid with baggy clothing. 

He had not seen her since that day aside from small one off interactions on social media, shockingly to most students teachers really didn't interact much in their personal lives aside from the occasional emails here and there of dread and excitement as the new school year approached. Baby wanted to mentally punch himself for the fact he didn't put much effort into making more contact with her, but granted he didn't really know what life she led beyond the confines of the school.

For all he knew she had a husband and family and just simply enjoyed the months off work to have time with her kids, or she was single and had other hobbies she took part in, it was all on the table. Most teachers don't tend to talk too much about their personal lives with teenagers being little walking gossip hubs and Miss. N, or Cat as she told him to call her, made quite the effort to keep her identity concealed from everyone.

And Baby didn't blame her, it wasn't suspicious or anything, he too kept a lock and key on his life from the eyes and ears of prying students. He didn't like the idea of a bunch of 14-18 year olds raiding his social media and seeing the staggering amount of car shows and pride events he attended on his time off, much less did he want them to dig any deeper and find his embarrassing dating profiles. 

A knock at his door pulled him out of his mind, leaning up in his chair he looked over to it and pulled a smile on his face, fully used to nervous students needing help after getting lost and being scared of being late.

“Come in!”

The knob turned slowly and the door swung open to show her, or more specifically Cat, standing there looking slightly disheveled but clearly trying to keep composure. He could feel his heart skip a beat as he studied her more, and just as he thought she still looked as beautiful as she did since he last saw her, and her outfit of a nicely ironed button up and black dress slack still complimenting her nicely along with the way her glasses and hair perfectly framed her face.

“Hello Mr. Baby, sorry to bother you so early.”

Always with the formalities at the start, she was usually one to not use them, but he figured she was stressed about something and he was in no way going to even slightly fault her.

“It's alright, Cat. Is uh... everything alright there?”

She let out a small nervous laugh and readjusted the strap of her laptop bag then shifted her weight from one leg to the other. Reaching into her pocket she pulled out her keys and slightly jingled them into the air.

“I really hate to start your first day of this year off like this, but you wouldn't happen to be in the mood to maybe take a glance at Zen for me?”

He smiled, ‘Zen’ was the name she had very lovingly given to her car. He personally found it adorable and always loved when she mentioned it, Baby having a personal soft spot for anyone who gives cars a little more value then a useless metal chariot to discard after 10 years.

“I would love nothing more, after all I'm here early anyways.”

She let out a sound of relief and turned out the door, getting up, he followed closely behind her as they made their way back into and down the hallways onward the front entrance of the school. There was a gentle silence between them aside from the sound of cats shoes clicking on the tile floor, Baby was curious however and was opting to not let this chance slip through his fingers like last year.

“So, not to bring up convo when you are looking particularly stressed, but I guess I can say long time no see?”

She seemed to break from her trance and turn towards him as he held open the front door for her. Softly she smiled and tilted her head to the side.

“Aha yes, yes in fact, and I would say the same for yourself.”

He grinned as she seemed to respond positively to the conversation, and let the door fall shut behind them as they stepped into the staff parking lot.

“Not to pry, but what all did you get up to over break? I personally just spent some time at a local shop learning more about plastic welding.”

She gave another coy smile, “Plastic welding, huh? Sounds interesting, but ah I didn't really get up too much aside from catching up on some hobbies and a few one off beach trips, other than that pretty much just personal time.”

Huh, well, he could definitely throw out the whole husband and kids theory he previously hypothesized, however it sounded a bit like she almost was pretty lonely and it stuck a nerve in him as he could relate all to well. Aside from his skill boost over the summer, he also didn't have much of a family to go home too and still being new to Nordina in general, he didn't really know much of anything to do locally. 

When they reached her car, she seemed to turn all her attention to the blue Sentra, holding the keys out to Baby, he took them from her and began making his way to the drivers side of the car to pop the hood open.

“So what's going on here, darling?”

Pausing in realization at what he just said, his eyes instantly locked with hers. Briefly there was a moment of silence before she cleared her throat and went back to looking at the car, for the most part seeming unfazed by the accidental nickname.

“Basically its just pulling really hard to the right and at first it wasn't bad but it’s uh...getting pretty hard to ignore at this point.”

Nodding, Baby stood back up from nearly popping the hood latch and instead started getting in the car.

“With any luck you'll just need an alignment which I can do here. Shouldnt take any longer than an hour or two, I can have it back to you after lunch if that's okay?”

She seemed to once again look relieved to find out that the issue wasn't something that would take a lot of time or money to fix. It was understandable, Baby himself driving a car that almost needed monthly work, he could fully understand not wanting to deal with constant costly fixes. 

“Well that's good, and if it's alright I can pop in around lunch to check up on things.” 

Baby smiled and seated himself in the driver's seat.

“That's fine! I'll see you then!”

Nodding, she turned and began walking back to the school. He waited till she was inside before he started the car and began to pull out of the parking space. Sure enough the pull was hard to ignore, but nothing he couldn't fix with a little time. Rounding the corner of the school, he drove it up to the garage and shifted it into park then turned it off.

He didn't want to be weird, but the realization that he had just gone from casually daydreaming about Cat to now be seated in her car and slowly falling in love with the smell of her perfume coming off the seats was causing him to mentally buzz. Swallowing, he looked around at the interior, slightly curious to get to know more about Cat, what with her slight air of mystery and all.

There was hardly anything inside of it aside from what he assumed to be a stray lipstick, a necklace and air freshener hanging from the rear view mirror, a coat laid in the passenger seat, and some hairpins in the cupholder. Her car was definitely one of the most clean one he had been in on a technical job, and once again despite his best efforts to not be ‘weird’ the fact it was her car was lulling him into a state of deeper interest. 

Shaking himself out of his mind, he decided he needed to stop being weird and do what he had promised. Getting out of the car he walked up to the garage door and hit the open button, then proceeded to pull her car in and up onto the alignment rack. 

He really needed to get a grip on his emotions, after all this is the first time the two of them have really spoken or interacted this much and he couldn't blow it all to waste by acting so odd about just sitting in her car. Groaning and rubbing his face, he gave himself a moment to collect his composure.

This was gonna be an interesting day.


	2. chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> he simps yet again

Baby wiped his forehead off on the sleeve of his shirt and let out a deep breath, the numbers on the computer finally reading perfect zero on all tires meaning the car had finally been properly aligned. These jobs were never hard for him but they sure could be tedious, especially when his mind was still drifting to the owner of the car and he found himself sporadically thunking his head against the car's door to try and get himself together. 

And just as she had said, Cat was suddenly there in the garage right in front of him with her lunchbox in hand. She looked much more relaxed now, and it appeared she had not yet eaten. The idea of them having lunch together invaded Baby's simple mind and he once again had to hold his breath and refrain from making a total ass of himself.

“Hey, shop teach, how's everything going?”

She also sounded much more cheerful as well, and it gave him another boost of happiness. 

“Ah it's going good, everything seems to be in place so it shouldn't be giving you any more issues. Also had some extra time so I threw in an oil change and topped off your wiped fluid while I was at it.”

She smirked and sat her lunchbox on top of a nearby toolbox.

“That's great! And not to get cocky but if I were any less observant I would say you are trying to impress me, Mr.Baby.”

It was like he could feel the gears in his head grind to a halt, and based off the amused look on her face, it must have been showing on his own. Impress her? He definitely...was...trying to impress her, and not to question her perception skills but she really sniffed that one out in seconds.

If she was this observant, hiding his now growing crush might have been a bit harder than he originally thought.

“I um, well I just figured while I was uh-”

She laughed, not a petty or overdone one, but just a generally soft one, and crossed her arms over her chest.

“Relax there, dork. I'm not trying to antagonize you, I'm just poking some fun. But seriously thank you, that saves me some money.”

He could feel heat rising to his cheeks, this was the first time she had called him a nickname twice in a row and he could feel the wires in his brain frying by the second. His heart was racing, and he suddenly was so aware of how he was standing there holding onto the car's bumper awkwardly. 

“Oh! Uh, yeah! It's no issue at all.”

He gave her a large and genuine smile, then walked over to his toolbox and set the ratchet in his hand down in the opened drawer, then bumped it shut with his hip. Glancing back over to her, he cleared his throat and decided to be bold.

“So uh, did you maybe want to have lunch together or uh- if not that's okay.”

She smiled and tilted her head to the side, then leaned against the nearby toolbox.

“Honestly how are you ever going to get a girl if you ask them all out like that?”

Once again he felt the heat rush to his face. 

“Gosh you are easy to fluster.”

Feeling an odd urge to jump to his own defense for a second, he did just that.

“Well sorry its been a while!”

He paused, and visually watched her eat up every last bit of what he just said, then patiently awaited the roast of the hour.

“Is that so? Well you are going to have to change that now aren't you, and what better chance then a new year?”

He hummed an agreement and began to walk over to the sink, coating his hands in the red soap and scrubbing at his hands and arms adamantly.

Truthfully he wanted to change it, 6 years of being single sucked and he wasn't really thrilled to make it 7. He was honestly tired of flying solo, love meant a lot to him, and the idea of finally having someone that special to him filled his heart with so much warmth.

Momentarily he toyed with the idea of that person possibly being Cat, and it wasn't an idea he was totally against. He liked the theory of her coming to see him at lunch, casual conversations together in the breakroom, ‘i love you’ texts, passing one another in the halls, all the works. It was nice to think about, but if her current ways were a display of her true nature then he was going to have to work harder than an oil change and some wiper fluid.  
“Well that is the plan.” 

Shutting the water off, he pulled some paper towels free from the holder and wiped his hands and arms off, then tossed the paper into the trash. He heard shuffling behind him, and just assumed it was Cat coming over or getting ready to leave back to her own room.

But instead she was standing three feet away from him, her arms still crossed over her chest and her expression of someone studying the person in front of them intently. Silence weighed heavy on the air for a moment before she was slipping past him and pulling a towel out of the dispenser.

She turned on the water, and wet it slightly before moving to stand back in front of Baby.

“Lean down here ya damn cornstalk.”

He ignored the name and did as she asked, leveling himself with her the best he could. She forced herself more and raised the towel to his face, wiping it across his forehead and then down his cheek a few times. Her other hand came up to cup his cheek and keep his face still, h coud practically feel his heart start racing at the touch.

And just as soon as it was there, she was pulling back and tossing the towel in the trash can. Smirking triumphantly as she looked back at him, reached her hand back up and mused his hair slightly.

“There, much better you filthy man.”

He gave a small sound of annoyance but couldn't keep it going long as the happy smile of success on her face was hard to stay upset at. Slipping her lunchbox from where she tucked it against her elbow back into her hand, she turned on her heel and began walking back towards the doors to the hallway.

But for a moment she stopped and turned to look back at him, back with the mischievous smile.

“Oh and if you are going to try and ask me for lunch, I would prefer eating outside on the bench by the football field.”

And with that she was walking away, and it was impossible for Baby to not watch her go, his eyes trained on the slight sway in her hips. Shaking his head, he stopped himself once again, he hardly knew her and had no room to be a weirdo and be looking in places like that.

Taking a moment to collect himself, he sped over to his office and grabbed his own lunchbox then locked his office door and jogged out into the hallway.

“Hey! Wait up!”


	3. chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> when thy taketh generously spiced images, thine cannot blameth thine masse for thirsting

It had been a week since their last interaction, with the school year picking up and going into swing it left the two teachers little time for idle conversation and possible flirting? But that stemmed from Baby's wish for currently minimal, if any at all, progress to be made.

Currently he had just finished a lesson, and was leaned back in his desk chair scrolling casually through one of his at least three dating apps. Sure Cat herself was his preferred prospect, but given the chance that she rejected him, he wanted to at least have some sort of option.

Maybe it was the area, the season, or the way the planets aligned- but dating was just so much harder than it seemed when Baby himself was in high school. He made all his profiles as open and warm as he could, but it was like nobody his age took the bait, even when he reached out first and did all the things he saw as ‘romantic’ and to be honest, it was starting to sting a little.

‘And what better chance then a new year?’

Cats words once again rattled around in his head.

She was right, this was a technical new year in a way and he had all the chances to make it better, and to have another shot at finding someone. He wished however that he could just bluntly say to her that it was herself he found interesting and not the loads of other faces on his phone's screen.

Love had always been something Baby clung onto, and after his last sort-of fling with someone from the local PD, he was feeling the loneliness setting in again. Baby himself was not a bitter person, but the cold cut off and then being left with no answers as to why made him have a brief resentment for anything romantic, if he could even slap the label of romance on a fling.

Sighing, he sat up in his chair and slipped his phone into his pocket, then decided to go raid the breakroom for coffee and leftover cookies from a students birthday party this morning.

Standing, he made his way out of his office then out into the hallway, rounding the corner and entering the surprisingly empty room. Usually there was at least someone else in here taking a much needed break from chattering kids, but for one its walls held nobody but the shop teacher.

Peering around the room, he was happy to see the coffee pot had not been totally drained, and grabbed a cup to help himself to what was left of the hazelnut goodness. Grabbing the half full pot, he poured its contents into the cup carefully.

That was until a loud noise that sounded like someone slamming a whole textbook on the table rang out from behind him causing him to jump and get a bit of the still very hot coffee on his hand. He yelped and set the pot down on the counter quickly, then cupped his hand and turned around to see who the hell just decided to storm the break room like Normandy. 

And to his surprise, it was Cat.

There was a wide smile on her face as she looked pleased to have nearly scared him into the afterlife, then the smile faded slightly as she glanced down to see him holding his scalded hand.

“You alright there, shop teach?”

He wanted to give some form of a snarky reply but the stinging was getting a little hard to ignore and he couldn't find it in him to bite back at her right now, even if she had just caused him to burn himself. Instead, he shook his hand and grimaced slightly.

She let out a small hum and then made her way over to him, holding out her own hand. He hesitated, then released his grasp on his own and stuck it out for her. She took his into her own, almost delicately, and turned it over to examine the decently sized red spot on the back of it.

“Well it's not the worst, shouldn't blister or anything but it's gonna sting a little. If you want I have some stuff for burns in my classroom along with a few band-aids, it's the least I can do for causing you to hurt it in the first place.”

He mulled it over in his mind before nodding, she muttered a small ‘come on’ before turning to leave the break room. He followed behind her and into her room. He had not been in the IT room much but was shocked by the computers everywhere. Everything was mostly neat and orderly, however her own desk was only a little more messy with a small leaning tower of laptops assembling itself on one side and a stack of textbooks on the other. 

Other than that her desk had just mostly stationary on it, some of it he would definitely quantify as ‘cute’ and he oddly felt himself mentally noting the fact she seemed to have an affinity for things with flowers on it.

“Sit.”

She pointed at her chair, hesitating for a moment he sat down in the chair and waited. She seated herself on the edge of her desk and slid open a drawer on the desk. Pulling out a small med kit, she unzipped it and removed a small tube and a box of Band-Aids from its pockets. He stuck his hand back out and once again she was careful when grabbing it. 

She gently rested his hand on her leg and then started to uncap the burn cream, while Baby on the other hand mentally panicked over the fact his hand was just casually sitting on her lap. He wouldn't list himself as someone to be as much of a freak to just lose his cool over it, but once again it swing back around to the broad statement of him having a massive crush on her only to suddenly once again find himself in very close proximity to her again.

She was very clearly otherwise occupied however, and he settled himself and forced a calm exterior once again as he knew it wouldn't take much for her to pick up on changes in his personality.

Putting a little of the cream on the tip of her finger, she used her free hand to pick his back up and started applying the cooling gel to the red area. He hissed slightly, and she did nothing but softy shoosh him in response, to which he did in fact quiet down along with the feeling of a blush creeping onto his cheeks.

She finished up and then put a large enough Band-Aid over the burn to keep it from getting anything else on it. For a moment she held his hand in her own, doing what he presumed to be an assumption of her work, but once again he just felt like he was on cloud 9 with the contact.

Though with that she was letting go of it, and with him being zoned out for a second, his hand fell back down into her lap. She smirked and waved her own in front of his face.

“Come back to Earth, Mr. Baby. Your battle wound is mended.”

Snapping out of it, he anxiously retracted his hand and nervously looked away from her gaze despite how much he wanted to lose himself in it.

“Oh uh thank you, sorry I kind of spaced out there for a second.”

She let out a small laugh and rolled her eyes playfully, crossing her legs and leaning back on the desk. She didn't seem to want him to leave instantly, so he decided to take the bait and try to push a bit.

“So aside from all that, how are you today?”

He muttered it in the most even tone he could muster as he tried to keep his gaze avoidant of the image of her looking unshockingly...seductive with the way she was sitting. She tilted her head to the side and looked like she was pondering what to say for a second.

“Well, my car is driving much smoother now so I guess that's nice, but I do have you to thank for that. Admittedly I feel bad for making you burn yourself but it gave me a chance to use my clearly superior medical skills.”

He laughed softly and leaned back more in the chair. He thought the playful smirk on her face was really cute, and once again had to suppress the urge to make a comment.

“However- I have a question for you, shop teach.”

He paused for a moment and felt a slight edge of panic rise in him. What could she possibly want to ask him? He figured he always seemed open enough that there wasn't that much worth digging for, however the fact she wanted to know something about him made his heart skip a bit.

“Sure, what is it?”

There was a moment of silence as she pulled her phone out and seemed to scroll through something, she then turned the device towards him and upon further analysis she was showing him his own dating profile. Panic arose in him, and the brief idea to snatch her phone and run with it like a quarterback passed his mind, but instead he felt a blush assault his feature and he averted his gaze.

It didn't help the main picture the profile was currently displaying was one of him in nothing but a black shirt and jeans, arms and face covered in grease, and his left hand slightly provocative with how it hung loosely from the front of his belt. It was something to be seen that was for sure, and the possible connotations of the image didn't really sink in till it was right here in front of him being displayed like some sort of prize she had earned.

“What is this that I've found?”

He was at a loss for words for once, not knowing what to say in response to such a question, as this really was the first time he had faced any level of confrontation in this aspect. Sure he got the one off compliments on his pictures, but it was usually from family or old friends. Whenever he did get a message about them on his profiles he always found himself at a loss for a reply, and now he was more aware that it was probably the reason for why he got so little traction in the dating world.

“It's uh...well that is without a doubt my tinder profile.”

He hated how timid he sounded, and once again the idea of just dipping and not speaking to her for the rest of the day passed his mind, but yet here he was getting read for filth and slightly or moderately at her mercy.

“And what a surprise it was to me to find this last night. I have to say, midwest, you take some pretty decent pictures of yourself. Would be a shame if the students got a hold of these- I mean…” She took a second to laugh, “If they haven't already.”

The panic started to set in and he felt frozen in his seat. Sure it was possible she was just messing with him to get a rise, it wasn't unusual for her at this point, but as he have a momentary epiphany of a no name no picture account liking all his images last night, he frantically yanked his phone from his pocket and rushed to the tinder app.

And sure enough, his notifications were blowing up, totally unbeknownst to him as he kept the app mostly muted. Every profile suspiciously lacked any identifying names or picture, but it was obvious it was student’s as all of the locations were not even a few miles away from him. Holding his breath he quickly went to his settings and temporarily disabled his account in a blur of fear, but deep down he knew it was too late for any actual damage prevention to be done other than locking down all his other media.

Locking his phone, he dropped it in his lap and put his face in his hands then groaned loudly in annoyance. This was awful, and the fact he had seen some of the comments on the pictures that ranged from ‘Now that's a whole meal.’ to ‘I want more than my car worked on.’ he was slowly losing his composure.

Cat on the other hand seemed fine, but a look of slight pity showed on her face for a few seconds. Sighing, she reached a hand down and slipped it under his chin, then angled his face up to look at her. Baby froze at the touch and let her maneuver hi how she pleased.

“Hey, relax, dork. You look good in them and none of them could actually be used as anything harmful. It'll be fine, this isn't the first time kids here have gotten their hands on a staff member's pictures. It'll blow over.”

Her voice was stern but soft, and it was clear to him she was trying to be reassuring. Taking it for what it was, he nodded softly, nearly falling hard for the smile on her face. He could feel his heart racing in his chest as she slid off the desk and stood up, readjusting her glasses before pulling her phone out and seeming preoccupied with texting someone.

“Okay, just let a few others know that some pictures of you might be floating around and that you are aware of it so nobody will make any big deals of it.” 

Baby sat frozen for a moment, but sat up and cleared his throat.

"Ah! Um thank you, it means a lot.”

She let out a soft laugh, “It's only fair for the fix on my car.”

He mulled her words for a moment, was it simply a return of favor out of pure mutual grounds, or was it possibly something deeper? Was it her genuinely trying to extend an olive branch in her own way? Baby didn't really want to be presumptuous, so he simply nodded and stood from the seat. 

“That was nothing, I would happily fix anything on your car if need ever came up.”

The silence between them was so thick you could slice it with a knife, and it's possible Baby saw a hint of emotion seep onto cats features, soft embarrassment maybe? Though it was cut short as she smiled widely again.

“Shore!”

He suddenly once again felt very weird just standing there back in the silence and simply pocketed his phone and nervously glanced at the door. 

“Well uh...I should head back to my room, lunch is nearly over and I have a lesson.”

Cat nodded before going back to looking at her phone, Baby took that as his que to leave and made his way to the door before she spoke up and caught his attention.

“Hey, you should come in here for lunch tomorrow.”

A blush creeped onto his cheeks and he swallowed hard, but did his best to play it cool.

“Uh- sure! I'll keep that in mind!”

She nodded, still preoccupied.

And With that, he made the walk back to his room with his heart beating harder than his footsteps.


	4. chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> oh they in LOVE LOVE

Baby was nervous, no shocker there, it was nearly normal for him to be anxious anytime the idea of even being in the same room as Cat came up. It wasn't a bad kind of anxiety, it only even arose because Baby had no solid concept on handling his crush. These day's he was trying more to maintain his composure more and more, though it was something that only improved with time and patience.

As he entered her classroom, he shut the door behind him and hoped she wouldn't mind, part of it was because deep down he didn't really want anyone walking in and disrupting stuff. That desire came up because Baby wanted to use today as a possible chance to get a little closer to Cat.

As he walked over to her desk, she perked up from her computer and her usual cheerful smile crossed her face, “Hey, shop teach.”

Each day Baby was finding himself becoming more and more adoring of the nicknames she gave him, especially that one just because it was the first, “Hey, what's up?” He sat down at the chair in front of her desk and put his lunch in his lap.

She hummed and pulled her own out as well, setting it on the desk and pulling out a blue bento box and a canned iced coffee, “Nothing much, just finished grading some homework and feeling pretty good about my plans for later today, you?”

Plans for later? He mulled on it and secretly hoped those plans were not a possible date with someone else or anything of the likes really, he had finally just got the confidence to start making moves on her and to find out someone already acted faster would be slightly upsetting.

“I'm good, managed to get a whole lesson done without anyone falling asleep or getting hurt so that was good,” He tried to silence the urge to push more, but he could only restrain himself so much “...Not to pry but what were your plans for later exactly?” 

She laughed softly as she popped open the tab on her drink and took a sip, setting it down on her desk. She gave him a look that managed to be soft and reassuring at the same time, “You know it's okay to ask people things right, Midwest? I mean we are trying to get closer after all, aren't we?”

Well, sure. 

Getting closer was the point, but Baby was unsure if Cat meant it in the way he did, and even still it was a little shocking she once again extended that offer he thought he was going to have to fight harder to even glance at. Baby smiled at her and nodded, and began unwrapping his lunch, “well yeah, I um...really do want to get closer.”

He kept going with getting his food, almost missing the way Cat fell silent, but with his nonstop social anxiety he of course noticed and looked up to see what was going on. He half expected to see her just enjoying her food, but instead it was quite the opposite.

Instead she had a slight flush across her cheeks, and her gaze that had been on him quickly averted to some other corner of the classroom. 

Oh?

This was the first time he had seen his words have this effect on her, and even more shocking was the fact he wasn't even trying in the slightest, he was just being as blunt as she was. He slightly took into mind that it was possible she was unfamiliar with people matching her energy in the way he just did.

“Um...anyways,” She cleared her throat and steadied herself, but Baby had already fully caught on to what he had caused, “...I just was planning on going to the boardwalk tonight, they have fireworks going off to celebrate the city's 100th anniversary.”

Baby perked up, he had never seen the longevity of a city being celebrated before, directly a result of growing up in rural Ohio and never seeing an actual city a day in his life until moving to Nordina.

“Oh, that actually sounds really fun, would you mind if I came with you?”

He asked it boldly, and a large smile plastered itself on his face.

Yet again he watched her cheeks flush a shade of pink, and her posture changing as she went straight up in her chair, nervously she laughed and began poking at her food while he ate with no issues at all “W-well um, sure, I mean I would enjoy your company and you re still new to the city after all aren't you?”

He nodded as he took another bite of his food, smile still in place, brain too caught up in the fact he was finally making progress with her to truly understand the depth of her words just yet.

“Well then it'll be a good chance for you to see more of the community and get to see a little bit of downtown.” She seemed to shift the pace again, probably for her own sake, and then went about eating her lunch. Baby felt the excitement course into him as he finished his food and stood up from his seat.

“Well, I have to get back to get ready for my next class, but I'll see you tonight?” He still had such an air of sureness to him and part of him worried it was a bit too much for his fellow coworker. However she just gave him another smile and nodded, and with that he was dashing back to his classroom.

+

Baby put his face into the pillow on his bed and did everything he could to keep himself from screaming into it. He was so dumb! What else was new, but now he felt really really dumb and he could kick his own shins in for this.

It took him three more hours of work and then halfway into cooking dinner for him to realize he had essentially just shot his shot with a possible ‘date’ earlier with Cat and she actually accepted that.

And not just that, but the fact she actually blushed and seemed slightly caught off guard by the fact he would even bother asking to just tag along.

Every part of him was internally screaming, he felt like he could probably fight someone three times his size at the moment and maybe win. Groaning to himself, he pushed himself up from his near self induced suffocation then checked his watch. It was already 6:00 and he agreed to meet her at 8. By the time he had gotten dressed and ready to go it would be cutting close.

Sliding off the bed he raided his closet till he found his best jeans, flannel, and shirt. Slapping the three on, he added some accessories here and there to spice up his look then topped it all off with the best smelling cologne he owned and his nicest boots. He gave himself a second glance at his appearance in the mirror on the back of his door, and then saw the time was already pushing 7:35.

Cursing himself for taking so much time, he grabbed his phone, wallet, and keys then rushed out the front door to his car. Driving down the city streets, he was amazed with all the bright lights and people he could see bustling on the sidewalks, it was a massive change of pace from what he was used to.

Locating the parking garage, he pulled in and found a spot for himself. Getting out, he pulled out his phone and sent a message on Facebook that he had arrived and in a few seconds she replied to him to let him know she was the as well. Smiling at his phone he began his trek out of the parking garage and down towards the boardwalk to the spot they agreed to meet at.

Then he finally saw her standing there, the lights of the city illuminating everything in a way that almost felt magical, and the way she stood leaning against the railing of the boardwalk with the wind slightly ruffling her hair only added to the nearly ethereal effect she was having. 

He steeled himself and put on every ounce of confidence he had and then approached her.

“Hey! Cat!”

She turned around and seemed a bit frozen for a moment, her eyes trailing him from head to toe, and unless Baby was mistaken he could swear he saw a hint of a blush creep onto her face. He didn't however want to start this all off with him prying at her emotions so he chose to dismiss it for now and instead took a spot next to her.

“Oh um- hey, guess I'll break down and admit you clean up pretty well shop teach.”

It's not like it was the first time she had seen him ‘cleaned up’ but then again that was months ago and this was now, and Baby likes to think the gym effort he put in over the summer showed a lot more now.

“Well I can definitely say the same for you, that dress looks great, red really suits you.”

He did his best to be smooth with it, letting his head tilt back and eyes fall half lidded, a smirk pulling at his features. He wasn't sure where he was getting this sudden boost of confidence but he was not about to question it, because by the way she looked even slightly more taken aback he was feeling a bit better.

Though as usual, she turned the tables.  
“Well I do recall red being listed as your favorite color on one of your profiles.”

And with that she was walking off in the crowd, Baby stood stunned for a moment but followed off behind her.

The boardwalk was crowded unsurprisingly, and the two found themselves careening closer to one another in attempts to not get separated, but eventually half way down Baby noticed Cat must have gotten fed up with fighting to stay by his side and latched their arms together.

He could feel his whole body practically heat up like an inferno in seconds, and suddenly the light flannel he had on might as well have been a parka in the Sahara. He tried to keep himself together, and simply responded by tightening his grip on her arm the best he could with the angle. 

Once again though, Baby forced himself to relax and simply enjoy the closeness of Cat. 

As they made their way together, they eventually reached the end of the boardwalk and spotted one single open bench that overlooked the water where they would be shooting the fireworks off. Both of them dashed over quickly and seated themselves, much to Baby’s dismay they pulled their arms apart as well. 

“So, have you ever even seen a fireworks display before?” Cat chimed in cheerily over the sound of soft music and the chatter of the people around them. Baby let out a huff of a laugh and playfully rolled his eyes, “I’m from the country not primordial civilization, Cat. Yes I’ve seen fireworks.”

She smiled, and stuck her tongue out at him before leaning back against the bench. 

“So you never told me much about yourself, teach.”

Baby hummed, she made a fair point, he really didn’t talk much about himself every time they spoke. Though he supposed it’s because every time they did talk, he was far more invested in figuring stuff out about her. Then again, was there anything even really worth talking about as far as his life went? 

“Well, it’s nothing exciting I’ll say that much,” He readjusted himself to also lean back on the bench, “But the gist is, I moved here from Ohio over the summer last year because the school offered me a job I couldn’t refuse. I liked Ohio well enough but living in a small town is draining and I was tired of being so close to my mom and dad so I decided to take the bait. Plus the liberalism of the area was a nice change.”

Cat nodded, she seemed shockingly interested in what he was saying, and he felt himself blush slightly at the way she seemed to focus so intently on his words. 

“So you didn’t live some crazy double agent life and you are just here normally?”

He laughed loudly, a snort slipping out, to which he covered his mouth and stared at her with eyes full of panic. Silence sat between them for a moment before she also busted out laughing herself.

“Oh wow! That’s- aha! God your laugh is just the best!”

He felt his face heat up more, and turned his head away to try and hide it, but Cat was relentless and reached out to gently grab his chin and turn his face back to her. This only made his blush deepen, and he kept his gaze averted as she got a good look at him. 

“Come on, Midwest. I’m just playing, I really do like your laugh.”

He grumbled and nodded, with that she was pulling back and folding her hands neatly in her lap.

“So, I was meaning to ask you, but the question seemed a little insensitive.” She sounded a lot more cooled out, and her eyes were trained on the sun setting in the horizon. Curiosity got the best of Baby however, so for once he chose to pry.

“Sure, what is it?”

“Well, I guess I was just really curious why someone like you has been alone for so long? Not to be weird or anything but you seem like quite the catch in my book.” She said it coolly and evenly, but it was clear to him she was slightly nervous about asking. He was slightly taken aback by the fact she quantified him as a catch, but took the compliment for what it was.

“Well, long story short I've just been busy. Most of the time’s I've finally been ready to find someone and get serious everyone around me is going in the opposite direction,” He felt a small pang of emptiness in his chest. He really was getting tired of being alone, and despite the fact he was endlessly reminded of how young he was and how much time he still had, it didn't change the fact that 6 years alone was still 6 years totally alone- especially to someone who has a high value of love. 

“...And I guess not a lot of people really saw anything in me despite what facets I showed them. I love kids, I can work on cars, I think I'm pretty good at cooking, and I even love doing chores. But none of that was good enough.”

The look on her face morphed into one of sadness, and it made Baby almost want to curl up and hide. He got slightly anxious to pretty much lay everything out like that, but for once he just wanted to be open, years of empty silence were eating at him.

In a moment, she was scooting over, and there was a second of hesitation in her actions before she was extending her hand and taking his in her own. Her fingers curled around his palm and held on tightly. His heart began to speed up, and more heat rose to his face as he looked over and locked eye contact with her.

She was nervous and he could feel it, but he couldn't ignore the way the lights shimmered in her eyes, the dusting of pink on her cheeks, the way her hair was perfectly styled despite the wind and looked so soft, and the light scent of her perfume pleasantly invading his senses. All of it just made him want to lean in more and absolutely drown in her.

“Well, if it's any consolation I think you are amazing, Gavin. And any woman would be lucky to have you.”

In that moment, it was like everything slowed to a near halt, and the Baby could hear nothing but his own heartbeat and the downed out voices of the people around them. Their gazes were deeply locked, and he couldn't even make himself pull away if he wanted too.

“I would...have to say the same for you, Cat.”

He watched the blush on her cheeks darken, then the soft fluttering of her lashes as she turned her gaze down to his lips then back up to his eyes. He swallowed, and barred down on himself more, palms sweating and her grasp on his hand only growing tighter.

He let his body fall into it, his eyes slipping shut as he slowly leaned forward, only cracking his eyes open enough to see she as well as mimicking him.

When their lips connected, the loud sound of fireworks exploding filled the air, and the vast spectrum of colors shot across the sky, though neither of them paid any mind to it. Baby tilted his head to the left, and she tilted her to the right, both maintaining the gentle pressure of the kiss before the need to breathe overtook and they both pulled back.

Baby turned away, and covered his face with his hands as he tried to regain his composure. He had really just kissed her and she had kissed him back! Was this real or just some cosmic joke? Oh whatever, he just wanted to savor the fact it happened at all, let alone with the girl he was massively crushing on nonetheless.

“Ah um I'm sorry if that was too much.” She broke the silence first, still sounding slightly off kilter and Baby couldn't blame her. It had been so long since someone kissed him that it might as well have been his first, and for all he knew he very well was her first based on what little he knew about her.

“No! No it's okay, I swear. We uh- both kind of went for it so don't take full blame.”  
He waved his hands in defense, truthfully he didn't want her to feel anxious or at fault when it was something he more than likely would have done regardless.

She hesitated and then nodded, reaching a hand up to nervously toy with her necklace and setting her gaze go back to the fireworks still bursting in the sky. Baby bit his bottom lip, and just decided to try and play it as cool as he could, his lack of experience with his stuff showing now more than ever.

“Well, I suppose now more than ever I should just come clean about the fact I've had a pretty massive crush on you for a while now.” He began to fidget with the strap of his watch, and examined her features out of anxious habit.

“W-what? Me?” She genuinely seemed like she couldn't fathom the fact someone could ever harbor those feelings for her, and once again Baby fully understood it.

“Yeah uh, pretty much since I saw you at last year's graduation I was pretty intrigued but was too nervous to really say much. And I pretty much assumed you had a husband and kids.” He felt embarrassed to admit as much, at least until her reply which came rather bluntly, “Well to be fair I also pretty much assumed you also had a wife and kids as well, so you aren't that far out of thinking as much. I couldn't understand how someone like you wasn't already taken, half the teachers at the school alone would kill to have a man like you for liking kids alone.”

He hummed and nodded, it was fair enough that the two of them just naturally assumed each other's status, after all it wasn't like either of them went out of their ways to flaunt their status of being single openly.

“Well that makes enough sense, but uh, no I'm definitely as single as I can possibly be at this point in my life.”

She nodded as well, and he watched as she seemingly untensed her shoulders and relaxed back into the bench, her death grip on the piece of jewelry around her neck easing up.

“Well, I guess I'll extend the olive branch that I can't deny I do find you rather interesting and I wouldn't be uh...opposed to getting to know you better...romantically.” He nearly blanked out by the time she said the last part. He had to be hearing her wrong? There's no way that ironically humorous and snarky IT teacher Cat was sitting here right in front of him and saying she would like to learn more about him romantically.

Though questioning such things were the actions of a hesitant fool, and Baby was nothing of the sort.

“I would like that too, I really want to get to know you better as well.”

She looked shocked and a bit taken aback, but an adorable soft smile started to tug at her lips and Baby wished he could just memorize it forever.

“Well,” She shifted in her spot and turned to look him in the eyes, her smile more bold and confident now, “Why don't we go catch dinner then, Mr. Baby. I know a good place down the road.”

He laughed softly, and nodded.

“Yeah, lets go, darling.”


	5. chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> baby is stupid what else is new 2k 2021 god get this boy some help did god even give him braincells? jesus he do be bold doe but aight you do you car boy ooo get it i guess, impress the girl or whatever,  
> on todays episode of cat would prob outshine baby on any basic iq test but once again what else is new this boy has two corn cobs glued together for a brain, god who let this man have a teaching license  
> baby prob eats pizza with ranch, oh wait i do that nevermind i take that back

Baby rolled over in the bed with a groan, his phone's alarm breaking the once silent air of his room. Reaching across the mountain of bed sheets he surrounded himself in, he grabbed the offending device and hit snooze. 

Since the date back at the boardwalk, Baby and Cat had been keeping a consistent level of communication. Their shared want to pursue a deeper bond showing with each passing day from small flirty smiles at one another across hallways to detailed texts mentioning sometimes through details of how much one valued the other.

Baby was down bad.

Glancing at the screen, he saw the usual good morning text she had been leaving him every day for a week now, and still felt the same untenable flutter in his chest he felt the very first time she did it. E slid down on the notification and responded with a doting reply, smiling as he saw her like his message then started typing her response.

“Are you coming into school at your usual time today?”

Sitting up in his bed, he shifted the sheets aside and began making his way to his dresser to grab his usual attire for the day, then quickly typed his reply and made his way to the bathroom.

“Yeah, why? Are you coming in late?”

Setting his stuff on the edge of the sink, he grabbed his binder off the towel rack and pulled it on with as much ease as someone who had been doing it for a while. Staring at himself in the mirror, he felt the weird pang of two different emotions.

These days he felt much better in his ability at passing as a man, but deep down he worried if he was Cat's definition of a true man. If he could ever meet or even surpass her standards for what a real man should be.

His right hand came up and ran along the expanse of the tan fabric, the area below it feeling flat but the true nature of it still evident to Baby who knew what it hid. It wasn't that he had avoided telling Cat that he was trans, but he didn't know how deep their relationship was going to go, and seeing as nothing intimate had occurred between the two of them- he was giving more time to let the depth of their emotions top off to a level he felt they were truly both going to commit to this.

He wanted to be open, and he trusted that Cat would never out him to anyone else, she just didn't seem like that type of person. Though the confines of his identity were sensitive, and too many times he had gone down this path with someone only for them to back out fully when they saw otherwise.

A small beep of his pone pulled him free, and he glanced down at it.

“I guess please don't take this in a weird way, but I've been really wanting to be close to you since we last hung out and just...wanted a little alone time I guess.”

Oh...OH.

He could feel his cheeks warming and his hands starting to shake slightly. 

Baby vividly recalled back to Cat telling him how hard it was for her to open up with people, especially romantically, and how she struggled telling people when she wanted specific things from them in any way that wasn't platonic. He didn't want to disrespect that, and he definitely didn't want to seem like some jumpy desperate weirdo who was waiting for the first chance to get this close to her.

He swallowed and began to type his reply.

“Oh! Well I mean-”

Backspace.

“Um actually same-” 

No.  
“Cat I'm Trans.”

Sent.

Well, inopportune timing was never inopportune if you just chose to try and make it opportunistic.

There was no reply for a few minutes despite him knowing she had seen the message, and he felt himself slowly starting to panic as he pulled his clothes on one by one, never breaking his almost lifeline sight on the phone.

“That's okay, but I still want you.”

If he had any less self control, he would have spit took the toothpaste in his mouth and then immediately cried in a mixture of relief and love for the woman on the other end of the phone. Maybe it was childish of him, and maybe to anyone else they would have taken it for what it was and moved on.

Baby on the other hand grabbed his phone and started at the words over and over again, rereading the message and doing his best to preserve it for all it was worth so any single second of doubt or worry he ever had stood absolutely no grounds. This was like nothing else he ever got from anyone else before and he wanted to just cling onto it so strongly.

Though he glanced at the time, cursed, and then resumed dashing to get ready and rushing out the front door.

+

When Baby got to the school, he made a quick path to his office, Cat having told him she would meet him there after she finished entering in some grades. His heart was practically beating out of his chest and as he sat in his desk chair he could hardly keep himself still. 

Even with the recent way things have been going between the two of them, he sometimes had a hard time believing that Cat had these feelings for him. It was all a huge adjustment, every little new thing, some monumental and taking is in wave after wave of happiness and surprise.

A taping at the door frame pulled his attention up, and there she stood smiling.

Her hair was once again in a long black wig that fell over her left shoulder, legs very plainly on display thanks to the plaid skirt currently hugging her thighs and cinching her waist in. her usual button up was also traded out for a white shirt that had a decently, but appropriate, low cut to it. 

She was breathtaking, and Baby could feel himself staring. Judging by the smirk on her face she didn't seem to mind it much at all, as if this was a deliberate attempt to make him choke on the very air in his lungs.

“So no comments on my outfit, my students bet me I couldn't dress nice for once.”

Baby swallowed and gave her another once over.

“How could I not make a comment, you look gorgeous.”

She laughed softly and stepped all the way in his office, shutting the door behind her and making her way to his desk. She leaned back on it, letting her hands rest on the edge as she smiled down at him, Baby smiled back up and leaned back in his chair a bit.

“So, you said you uh...said you wanted...me?”

There was a small lack of confidence in him saying that, and he didn't mean too but it hasn't exactly been something he was told often. She tilted her head, and he watched as her eyes fell half lidded, and she shifted to lean forward over him in his chair, both her hands coming to stabilize herself on the arm rests. Baby held his breath, his face practically burning as Cat began to lessen the gap between the two of them.

“U-um, Kitty. What are you- uh doing?”

She said nothing and gave another smirk, before leaning forward more and pressing her lips to the corner of this mouth. Baby's brain practically stopped working at that moment, and his grip on his own legs dug into the fabric of his jeans as he tried keeping himself together.

Though something in him suddenly felt bold, and one hand was coming up to cup the back of Cat's neck as he turned his head and pulled her into a kiss. This time he could feel her tense up, and a mall sound of surprise sipping past their mouths as she stood there frozen, then gradually began leaning into it.

Baby relaxed himself, and tilted his own head more to deepen the kiss. He could feel that Cat was also doing the same, one of her legs slipping between his own. He took the chance and pulled her down into his lap, this caused them to break the kiss and for her to let out another noise of shock.

“A-ah, Baby!? What was that for?” She placed her hands on his chest as a way to stable herself out more, while Baby on the other hand was having a very hard time snapping his attention away from the sight of her sitting in his lap. He swallowed, and yanked his gaze back to her face, “I just...wanted too. I just felt right.”

She made an expression that aired out the fact she didn't entirely buy into it, but her features softened as she seemed to relax more into his grip, “I suppose that's fair enough, I did kind of instigate this after all.”

He hummed and did another look over her, but he could feel how tense she was and decided it was time to stop being overly observant of her appearance.

“So uh, was that all? Because this is uh- pretty nice but um, I don't really want someone walking in on us like this.” She pushed herself up, and averted her eyes from his own. Baby just could't help the way his gaze hung on her though, everything about her so much more encapsulating than the last and he just wanted to tell her over and over again how much he adored her.

“Yeah, yeah I suppose you make a point.” She rubbed her arm, and her face continued to flush even more as she seemed to be studying the details of the walls. Taking another leap of faith, Baby stood from his seat and placed his hands on her shoulder, then lightly pulled her forward to place a trail of kisses from her collarbone to her cheek.

“You do look really beautiful though, Cat.”

She shuddered and let out a high pitched squawk, but did not try to pull out of his hold. Instead her hands found the fabric of his flannel and held on tightly as she steadied herself, her head coming forward to rest on her shoulder.

“Jeez Gav....” Her voice was soft and clearly a bit of lingering embarrassment could be heard in it. Smiling to himself, he nestled his face in her hair and enjoyed how it smelled faintly of flowers. She seemed to also be enjoying the embrace for what it was until the sound of the first period bell ringing broke the comfortable silence.

Sighing, he pulled back and fixed himself and eyed his door cautiously now in case any students were to come knocking. Cat on the other hand seemed frozen again for a moment then proceeded to smooth her skirt out and then made her way over to the door. She rested her hand on the knob then gleaned back over at him, looking like she was hesitating on her words.

“So um, would you maybe want to do dinner tonight...um, at my house?”

He could feel a bit of a blush start to grow on his cheeks. 

She was asking him to dinner at her house? God could she possibly get any cuter? 

Smiling, he sat back in his chair and leaned forward on it.

“I would love that so much.”

She took a moment, but then a soft and genuine smile slowly took over her face, her eyes looked warm and gentle and so genuinely full of love. Baby could only sit and admire the sight of pure happiness gracing her features and feel as his heart sped up in response.

“See you then, shop teach.”

And with a wink, she was gone.


	6. chapter 6

The day had been long, and slightly more stressful than Baby was okay with, and as he walked down the hallway to Cats classroom the sight of barren halls was much more comforting that he liked to admit. He enjoyed his job and put in the most effort he could daily, doing everything he could to help those struggling and falling behind and encouraging the kids excelling. But when stuff got rough, and a kid ended up getting hurt, the guilt hung heavy on his shoulders even with his fellow staff and parents of the child reminding him that he did his best to prevent it.

Cat knew, and she had been worried since she texted him asking if he knew why an ambulance was at the school, but she couldn't get pulled out of her own classes for something she wasn't involved in and he did all he could to let her know that it was okay and he was handling it the best he could.

Rounding the corner, he stepped into the dimly lit classroom and was greeted with the sight of Cat getting up from her desk and shuffling over to him. She said nothing, but simply pulled him into her embrace, letting one of her hands find the back of his head and run along the soft hair there comfortingly.

“How do you feel?” She spoke quietly, as she was already picking up on things that kept him calm when he was stressed or upset. Sighing, he dipped his head down to rest it on her shoulder and wrapped his arms around her waist.

“I just...wish I could have done more, I was doing my best to make sure all of them were being safe.” He could hear the emptiness in his voice, his depression was seeping in full force and it was drowning him by the minute.

His day had already started off roughly with his car not starting this morning, more than likely due to a dead battery, but he was close to running late and Cat was close enough that she could pick him up in time for him to make it in. Then it didn't help that he had a harder lesson to teach today, one he didn't usually enjoy because it was slightly dangerous with the tools that were involved, and he always did his best to express to the students that caution and safety were vital.

However, accidents happened, and when the shouting of teenage panic broke the air he turned around quickly to see someone had decently cut their arm open on some sheet metal. Panic arose in him but he knew he had to force himself to keep a level head. It wasn't anything life endangering, but nobody liked being hurt, much less a teenager, and as the kid pulled their bleeding arm closer to their chest and tears began to drip down their face, Baby was feeling utterly helpless.

He called for help, and people much more equipped to handle it took over, all he could do now was wash the blood from his hands and try and get the other kids back into the classroom for a break and try to explain to them the importance of shop safety.  
It was a nagging feeling however, one that made him believe he had messed up terribly and probably would be asked to allow the student to drop the class if theft were too nervous to come back. His own paranoia was a beast on its own, but when things turned themselves upside down with him at the center, it took on a new form so much greater and volatile that he could handle.

It ate at him, and on top of the fact he was still fighting years of loneliness and depression back to back- he felt helpless.

Cat hummed, and began to rub his back in slow, comforting circles, “You did all you could, you aren't at fault, Gav.”

He always took her words as solid as he could, and they chipped away at the fractured mental wall he was building right now. They leveled him out, and reminded him that he was just one person doing all he could. 

He nodded and let his eyes fall shut.

“How about I get my stuff packed and we head back to my place, you can relax and watch a movie or something?”

‘Yeah, that would be nice.”

+

Baby nestled his head more into Cat's lap, and her hand went from rubbing his shoulder to tangling itself in soft brown hair and playing with it gently.

They had been like this for about an hour now, and the pace of it all was lulling Baby deeper and deeper into a sense of comfort. When they got here, she let him take a shower and went as far as drying his hair and brushing it for him, she then lended him a large hoodie and a pair of pj pants. Initially she had some stuff that needed grading, but she was getting exhausted with it and soon joined Baby on the couch and tried to keep up with the movie he was watching.

“Who's your favorite transformer?” She had muttered it just loud enough for him to hear it over the movie, and he could practically feel the excitement filling him as he shot up and gave her a bright smile.

“Well- my favorite out of every single one is a Decepticon named Soundwave who is this really cool intel officer, but in this movie it would have to be either Bumblebee or Optimus Prime.” He muttered softly and turned his head a bit to look up at her, there was a gentle smirk playing on her features and it made his heart swell slightly.

She hummed a response, and refocused her eyes on the movie, confused but not wanting to delve- baby did as well. She seemed okay, and he was enjoying the pace, but he couldn't help but notice the way she seemed to have some sort of question on the tip of her tongue for the past few days now.

Part of him was anxious he had done something wrong and maybe she was only putting up with him out of pity for today's events, and that the second she dropped him off back at his own home she would break some news about not wanting to continue everything they had going on.

Truthfully, sometimes Baby was his own worst enemy, and he wished he could change that because all he ever wanted anymore was to enjoy these moments without his mind barring him with loads of upsetting ideas.

He worried a lot some days, truly he loved Cat more than he could ever put into words- but he didn't want her to feel rushed so often he toned down the raging sea of affection she had for her. But from sunrise to sunset he longed to see her, to feel the smoothness of her skin against his own, her eyes fixated on his and her mouth forming a smile at the words he spoke. His heart beat faster every time she came to his mind, always as entrancing as she was the first time he saw her.

He was really starting to realize that he didn't want to lose her.

“Can we talk about something?”

Once again she broke the silence, and he could feel an edge of panic start to rise in him at those words. Sitting up and grabbing the remote, he turned the volume down then gave his attention to her.

“Yeah, what's up?”

She looked a bit frozen for a moment, like she was taking the her time to mull over what she wanted to say- and while he would never fault her for taking a moment to articulate, he was feeling the panic rise by the moment.

“I hope...I hope this comes out okay, and I hope you don't see me as desperate or judge me any for this, but I've been thinking it over the past few days and...I just,” Her hands tightened their hold on the blanket she had draped over her lap, and Baby could see the nervousness in her body language.

“I was...thinking about if you wanted to uh, make things...official between us.

If the air could have been cut with a knife and all that- it very well would have happened in that moment.

Her cheeks were red, and her gaze was now fully averted from his own, and truthfully he couldn't blame her. Baby sat frozen, his heart now catching up to speed along with his mind.

She had just...asked him out.

He wanted to react as loudly as possible, yank her into a hug and kiss every inch of her face, maybe cry if he was feeling really bold.

But- he reached out and laid his hand on her own, feeling her tense and then relaxing under his touch. Swallowing, she looked up at him, clearly anxious,, and he once again didn't fault her at all.

“Yes, god yes Cat, I would love that so much.”

She seemed shocked, almost like she half expected him to turn the offer down, but then as every second past the smile tugged at the corners of her lips and she was leaning forwards towards him. Softly she pressed her lips to his, and he could do nothing more but smile into the kiss and return the affection back.

They held it for lord knows how long, simply enjoying the loving feeling they could share in that moment. The quiet serendipity of the night outside, the hum of the refrigerator, their fingers slowly intertwining, and most of all both of them finally knowing they were in the presence of someone they could safely know loved them so adoringly.

Pulling back from the kiss, the moved to rest their heads together, momentarily silent as to just savor the scene.

“I love you, Cat.”

She hummed softy, and moved to press a soft kiss to Baby's cheek.

“I love you too, Gav.”


End file.
